ringleader, Brian McCulloch, 39, from Paisley, who was caught on tape boasting that he made £20,000 a day selling the drug

ringleader, Brian McCulloch, 39, from Paisley, who was caught on tape boasting that he made £20,000 a day selling the drug, was jailed for 10 years. The court was told that he was caught when he bought a BMW jeep, which had a police listening device installed inside, from his co-accused Stephen Jamieson. Jamieson, 26, also from Paisley and who was jailed for eight years, used his profits to buy a £115,000 Lamborghini car, an £1,800 dog and three watches together costing £10,315. Steven Caddis, 30, and Gary Caddis were sentenced to six years and five years. The court was told that the men were overheard by police using codewords while discussing buying and selling cocaine, mentioning prices that ran into tens of thousands of pounds. Strathclyde Police searched 171 houses and questioned 146 people. Officers have so far seized drugs and drug-related material worth £8.8 million, £445,000 in cash, two Mac-10 machineguns and an assortment of sawn-off shotguns, rifles, handguns and ammunition. They also took three Range Rovers, one BMW X5, one BMW X3, one Lexus and one Porsche Cayenne, as well as five Rolex watches, two Cartier watches and one Breitling watch. At an earlier hearing all four men admitted dealing cocaine. Jamieson also pleaded guilty to money laundering. Judge Lord Pentland said the sentences reflected “society’s condemnation” of the activities of gangs such as McCulloch’s. He told him: “It is a trade which wreaks so much misery on its users and their families. It is clear that you were one of those particularly concerned with organising and running an extensive criminal scheme involving large amounts of cocaine. The quantities and values of the drugs involved were substantial.”
The judge commended the police for their “skill and diligence” in bringing the gang to justice.

indictment charging Eric McPeters, Dean Moya and Richard Vickery with one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine

indictment charging Eric McPeters, Dean Moya and Richard Vickery with one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. All three men are from Helmet, California. Investigators say the Department of Homeland Security tracked the aircraft from northern New Mexico on October 22nd. A drug-sniffing dog helped officers locate a huge stash of cocaine in two large suitcases on the plane.
Each defendant faces a minimum prison term of ten years if convicted on the charges.

18-year-old Shea (shay) Fraser,Judge Fraser's daughter was taken into custody Tuesday

Judge Fraser's daughter was taken into custody Tuesday in Marysville in central Ohio and charged with two counts of trafficking in heroin, one count of heroin possession and one count of complicity related to heroin trafficking.Police say she was among 18 people arrested from an undercover investigation. She remained jailed Thursday, awaiting an initial court appearance. A message seeking comment was left for her attorney.

Arrested Charles Edward Smith, 32, after a reverse purchase of drugs at a hotel

Arrested Charles Edward Smith, 32, after a reverse purchase of drugs at a hotel and brief foot pursuit in July 2008. Prosecutors said deputies found more than 100 grams of cocaine in Smith's possession.Smith admitted to buying about four ounces of the substance for $3,780 at the hotel.Smith's attorney told Hayes that his client, who has a vision problem that made it difficult to keep a job, got swept into dealing drugs because the money was too good and too quick.Prosecutors agreed to charge Smith with trafficking between 28 and 100 grams of cocaine provided that he serve 15 years and pay a $50,000 fine. Had Smith been convicted by trial, he would have faced a sentence of seven to 25 years.

Eight people have been arrested by the national police in Tenerife on charges of trafficking 800 grams of cocaine

Eight people have been arrested by the national police in Tenerife on charges of trafficking 800 grams of cocaine worth around 46,000 euros. The raids followed the detention of two suspects at Los Rodeos airport.One of the suspects was carrying a large amount of coke that he had digested into his body. He was taken to hospital in order to remover the drugs safely from his intestines. Subsequently several raids were carried out on houses on the island.The police found the 800 grams of cocaine and an equivalent amount of another power that they believe would be used to “cut” with the coke to double its volume. All of the eight arrested have records for drug trafficking and robbery with violence or intimidation.

John W. Bradberry, 39, of York, York County; and Terrance D. Pemberton, 39, of Harrisburg; were stopped last Friday

John W. Bradberry, 39, of York, York County; and Terrance D. Pemberton, 39, of Harrisburg; were stopped last Friday around 12:20 a.m. around mile marker 57, state police at Fogelsville said.Police said the men were pulled over because the tint on the windows was illegal. Two pounds and six ounces of cocaine were seized along with drug paraphernalia.Both were arraigned on charges of possession, possession with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia and criminal conspiracy and committed to Lehigh County jail under $50,000 bail.Pemberton, who also is known as Eric M. Lang, remains in jail. Bradberry posted bail the same day of his arrest and was released, according to court records.

Kevin Thomas, 47, of Route 52, was convicted Thursday of criminal sale of a controlled substance

Kevin Thomas, 47, of Route 52, was convicted Thursday of criminal sale of a controlled substance, a felony, following a jury trial in Ulster County Court.
Witnesses testified during the trial Thomas sold cocaine to a confidential informant of the Ulster County Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team on April 30.
Thomas remains jailed pending his sentencing, scheduled for Dec. 18.

extradition request for Christopher "Dudus" Coke

extradition request for Christopher "Dudus" Coke in August, has so far only responded with requests for more information about the gun and drug trafficking charges against the reputed gang leader.Coke, identified by the U.S. Justice Department as one of the world's most dangerous drug kingpins, allegedly controls a band of gunmen inside Tivoli Gardens, a barricaded neighborhood of Kingston, the capital of Jamaica and a city with one of the highest homicide rates in the Western Hemisphere.U.S. authorities are voicing frustration that Jamaica is not moving more quickly to honor a mutual extradition treaty."The U.S. government is looking forward to the Jamaican government respecting their obligations under the treaty," Patricia Attkisson, spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Kingston, said Thursday.The political opposition has also criticized the government for putting Jamaica into what it calls a standoff over Coke, who is known for his loyalty to the Jamaica Labor Party. Island gangs have loose affiliations with both major parties — a legacy of the 1970s, when political factions provided the guns to intimidate rivals."The cascading effect of international reaction to the administration's inaction could lead ultimately to Jamaica being labeled and declared a 'rogue state,' with lasting adverse implications for our people," said Peter Bunting, a lawmaker with the opposition People's National Party.A government spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.

Adrian Mosley, 39, and Anissa Mosley, 41, appeared on Thursday in a Beaumont federal courtroom, where they were formally charged with drug possession

Adrian Mosley, 39, and Anissa Mosley, 41, appeared on Thursday in a Beaumont federal courtroom, where they were formally charged with drug possession and intent to distribute cocaine.The case began July 29 when Beaumont police stopped their car for a routine traffic violation. A search of the vehicle netted 28 kilograms of cocaine, officials said.They were arrested Oct. 22 after a federal grand jury indicted them on the drug trafficking charges. A later search of their home in Pearland uncovered a cocaine processing lab, weapons, ledgers used in the drug trafficking and a money counting machine.Investigating the couple are the Drug Enforcement Administration's Galveston office, the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office and the Beaumont Police Department.

Michael Shawcross, 26, was stopped by officers from the UK Border Agency at Heathrow Airport as he stepped off a flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil

Michael Shawcross, 26, was stopped by officers from the UK Border Agency at Heathrow Airport as he stepped off a flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil, in September. He had been backpacking in South America before heading back to the UK.Shawcross, of Lower House Lane, Norris Green, was interviewed by officers from HM Revenue and Customs as investigators carried out tests on his rucksack and sleeping bag.Isleworth crown court heard the drugs had been washed with a liquid which was then impregnated into the lining of the bags.The 4kgs of 100% proof cocaine would be worth nearly £900,000 on the streets, HMRC said.On September 5, Shawcross pleaded guilty to trying to smuggle the drugs and he was sentenced to eight years behind bars, with a travel restriction order for three years after his release.Peter Avery, Assistant Director of HMRC Criminal Investigations, said: "We will continue to work closely with our UK Border Agency colleagues to detect and seize drugs smuggled into the UK and prosecute those involved."

Charged 30-year-old Eric Wayne McPeters, 40-year-old Dean Bryan Moya and 31-year-old Richard Allen Vickery of Hemet, Calif

Charged 30-year-old Eric Wayne McPeters, 40-year-old Dean Bryan Moya and 31-year-old Richard Allen Vickery of Hemet, Calif., with one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine.The Department of Homeland Security last Thursday identified a suspicious aircraft that had landed in Liberal. Liberal police were contacted and they requested assistance from the Southwest Kansas Drug Taskforce and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.A drug-sniffing dog was brought from the Beaver County (Okla.) Sheriff's Office and it hit on the 1964 Cessna 210D twice, according to a court document. A search warrant was obtained, and investigators found two suitcases containing 50 individually wrapped bricks of cocaine.Moya and Vickery were arrested at the Liberal Inn, but McPeters has not yet been taken into custody.Authorities said the plane was forced to land in Liberal because of bad weather.

33-year-old Bum Gu Kim and other members of his ring would buy cocaine from a source in Arizona and drive it up to Buffalo, N.Y.,

33-year-old Bum Gu Kim and other members of his ring would buy cocaine from a source in Arizona and drive it up to Buffalo, N.Y., where they crossed the border into Canada, Kim admitted. While in Canada, they would exchange the cocaine for Ecstasy and bring it back to Maryland, where they sold it wholesale to area drug dealers. The cocaine was allegedly purchased from Leonardo Aldana, an Arizona man who is currently awaiting sentencing after being convicted of distributing cocaine and methamphetamine. After listening to a phone conversation between Kim and a co-conspirator in June 2007, federal agents followed Kim to a parking lot near Arundel Mills Mall, where they watched him sell drugs to another person, court documents said. When agents attempted to pull the customer over, the customer fled and tossed 4,800 Ecstasy pills out his window. When the pills were tested in a federal lab, authorities say they found MDMA -- the chemical compound in Ecstasy -- and methamphetamine, more commonly known as speed. Prosecutors said they believed Kim distributed more than 400 pounds of Ecstasy because of the number of deals they overheard him arranging from taps on his cell phone. Kim was eventually arrested after the Internal Revenue Service linked him to the money-laundering scheme, court documents said. Kim would take the cash proceeds of from selling the Ecstasy and use it to pay off credit advances taken out at casinos in Buffalo and Ontario, Canada. He pleaded guilty to the drug distribution charge and money laundering in October 2008, court records show, nearly a year after federal authorities brought his drug-trafficking scheme to a halt. "Money laundering is not a victimless crime, said IRS Special Agent C. Andre Martin. "The underground, untaxed economy harms the nation's economic strength."